Center Stage (2 page)

She nodded. One of the perks of keeping your house when you moved away, especially if you knew you’d be back. “Yes. Of course.”

“That was a sound business decision to keep the house and rent it out. Benson, Benson, and Hart keep good care of it.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything different. I know I have a renter in the basement, too. Hope they don’t make too much noise. I’m a day sleeper.”

John smiled. “Oh, he’s a good guy. He won’t bother you.”

Arianna nodded and looked up at the hospital where her brother worked as an emergency room doctor. “Guess I’d better go meet the newest members of this crazy family.” She slid across the seat and placed a kiss on John’s unshaven cheek. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll take you out for pizza and a beer.”

“Never could turn down a woman who offered up pizza and beer.”

She opened the door and climbed out. He was just her kind of man.

The waiting room was full of Kellers, including Carlos and Madeline, who held a sleeping Tyler.

Carlos stood and greeted her with a hug when she walked into the room. “I thought you were babysitting him so he didn’t have to hang out here.”

“C’mon, what’s better than meeting your baby brother or sister in the middle of the night and knowing this is the kid you get to beat on for the rest of your life?”

Arianna laughed as Clara rushed over and hugged her. “Auntie, I have a new song for you. I wrote it myself.”

“And I bet it’s the best song ever.”

Arianna pulled her niece to her side. This was just what she’d needed—her family.

John opened the door to Arianna’s house. He supposed he’d have to relinquish his key now that she was home. He shut the door and carried her bags to the bedroom at the top of the stairs. He didn’t open the door. He knew it was empty, but still, it was her bedroom.

The house was dark and quiet; he’d miss that too. There hadn’t been a renter upstairs for months; he’d had the house to himself. Oh, he kept to himself downstairs in the little apartment in the basement, but he’d enjoyed using the front door access and the kitchen from time to time. There was a grill on the back porch, which offered the perfect view of the sunset. He was sure Arianna wouldn’t mind him cooking a steak or two for her, just for access to the porch.

John grabbed a beer from the refrigerator as he passed through the kitchen. He figured he’d better get his plugged in downstairs. It had been a saver on electricity since the one he had in his kitchen was old, and Arianna’s kept the beer colder.

He started down the stairs to his little apartment. The door locked from her side, which kept the renters out of the house. He’d taken liberty with that since the house was empty, but certainly he wouldn’t disrespect that rule when she came back home.

His small apartment was just the right size. He was a simple man who didn’t need much—and who didn’t have much since his ex-wife took everything he’d ever had. Ten years after she’d left him for another man, he still wondered what he’d ever seen in her. Well, he’d never make that mistake again. Women just weren’t worth it. Most women, he corrected himself. His mind had been preoccupied with one woman in particular for months. And now he faced the dilemma of knowing she’d be living only feet from him.

The last thing he wanted was a relationship—platonic or just sexual. Relationships had never brought him anything but grief.

John sat down on his Lazy Boy recliner and turned on his big screen, flat panel TV. A man had to have his luxuries. He pulled from his imported beer and thought life was good.

But only a moment later, his mind wandered to Arianna. With her hair piled atop her head, her eyes dark from lack of sleep, and her ripped jeans, she’d still stirred him up more than he’d have liked.

Beer and pizza sounded like a great idea, but he wouldn’t take her up on the offer until he knew they’d cemented their relationship as landlord/renter and friends—only friends.

Chapter Two

The night dragged into early morning, and the entire Keller family still sat in the waiting room and waited. Carlos’s head rested on Arianna’s shoulder, and he held Tyler in his arms. Clara had taken Arianna’s lap as a pillow, and she too was asleep.

Eduardo had been frantically texting on his phone until almost midnight, but she noticed that now he and Christian both had their feet propped up on the same table and their eyes were closed.

She seemed to be the only one awake, and she was happy that she was the only one to see her brother-in-law, Zach, walk into the room.

There was an unmistakable grin on his face, and his tired eyes shimmered. He gave her a quiet nod toward the room. She acknowledged with a similar nod, and then went about readjusting Clara and Carlos so that she could stand up.

Quickly she ran to her brother-in-law’s waiting arms and gave him an enormous hug.

“She wanted to see you first,” he whispered in her ear and then wrapped his arm around her waist and led her down the hall.

There was an excitement that buzzed through her. Regan had asked for her.

Regan and Arianna had been Kellers for nearly their entire lives. In fact, she didn’t remember her life before the Kellers adopted her, but the fact remained, even before the Keller family, it was always her and Regan.

They’d always shared that bond, even when their parents changed and siblings were added.

Having Regan ask for her to meet her baby first gave Arianna a pride and joy that she figured could only be rivaled with having her own baby, and she had no desire for that.

Regan was propped up in bed and her new born bundle of joy was wrapped in her arms in a blanket.

Arianna moved quietly to the side of the bed and kissed her sister on the cheek.

“I want you to meet Spencer.”

Regan handed her son to her, and Arianna fell in love. She’d done the same when she’d handed Tyler to her, too. The children of her siblings were her life. She wasn’t sure she could be more blessed.

“Hello, Mr. Spencer. I’m Auntie Arianna. I’m in charge of spoiling you rotten.”

Zach moved in beside her. “You’re setting him up, you know.”

“I know. But as I don’t ever plan to have one of these, spoiling yours is my sole purpose in life. I think I’ve done a fairly good job with Carlos’s kids, and Tyler seems to like me just fine.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “It looks like he’s very happy to have you as his auntie.”

At that moment, the door flew open and Curtis stood there, frozen with his face paralyzed in what appeared to be a panic.

Regan sat up straighter and then quickly relaxed. “What’s wrong? Simone? Is she okay?”

Curtis only nodded. “Girl.”

Arianna watched as Regan’s face softened. “You have a baby girl?”

Curtis nodded.

Arianna laughed. He was a trauma doctor stunned by the birth of his own child. “Congrats, Daddy.”

Curtis wiped his hand over his head. “I think I should sit down.”

Zach hurried to him. “Rookie. C’mon, let’s go see this princess of yours before the rest of the family wakes up.”

“Curtis.” Arianna waited for him to turn toward her. “What is her name?”

“Oh. Yeah. Avery. Avery Emily.”

“I’ll be down there next to meet my niece.”

He only nodded again and let Zach help him out of the room.

Regan laughed. “He’s doomed. Absolutely doomed.”

“We think Simone has him wrapped around her finger. Just wait until Avery needs something.” She held Spencer’s little hand. “I can’t believe you both had your babies on the same day.”

“That will be a special bond between them.”

The door opened again, and this time their parents walked in with Tyler holding tightly to his grandmother’s hand.

Regan reached her arms out to him and tears rolled down her cheeks as Tyler ran toward her. His grandmother helped him onto Regan’s bed and she wrapped her arms around him. “Look, Tyler, you’re a big brother.”

Tyler lifted his head and looked at the baby in Arianna’s arms.

“His name is Spencer,” she told him as he rested his head on his mother’s shoulder and quickly fell asleep.

Their mother held out her arms. “Let me see my grandson.”

Arianna handed her nephew off to her mother and turned to hug her father. “I’m going to go meet my niece and then head home. I’m exhausted.”

“Thank you for being here,” Regan whispered as not to stir Tyler or Spencer.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’m very lucky to have made it for both.”

Arianna walked out to the hallway and followed the sounds of her brother’s voice.

Curtis was seated in a chair, his arms resting on his knees, and Zach hovered over him with a glass of water.

The sight nearly had her busting out in laughter.

Simone shook her head. “You would think he did all the work.”

Arianna wondered if Simone had seen a mirror. Her long, black tresses were matted down to her skin. Her face was still flush, and her eyes were bloodshot. However, Arianna thought she’d never looked better.

She walked to Simone’s bedside and took her first look at her beautiful niece. “Hello, Avery.”

“Is she not the most beautiful girl in the world?”

“She just might be. May I hold her?”

Simone was not as quick to give up her first child to her doting auntie as Regan was, and that was expected.

“Oh, Simone, she is just wonderful.” She looked up at Curtis who was now sitting upright. “You can mend severed limbs, but a baby does you in?”

“Don’t give me your grief. You weren’t here.”

She looked down at Simone. “Was it that bad?”

“They have drugs for mothers, not for fathers.”

Arianna laughed, but kept it quiet. “I never thought you were a wimp.”

“In my defense,” he said as he stood, “I didn’t like that it caused her pain. I caused her that pain.”

Arianna felt the sting of tears now. Her brother had sincerely meant what he said, and it moved her.

She gave Avery a kiss on the top of her head and handed her back to Simone.

“Congratulations. I’m so very happy for you.”

It was six o’clock in the morning when Carlos dropped Arianna off at her house. She was sure that was the longest day of her life, and she knew long days.

She pushed open the door to her house and looked around. Whose stupid idea had it been to rent out the house and get rid of the furniture? Oh, yeah, hers.

The door closed behind her and she turned to lock it. Her footsteps echoed as she walked toward the kitchen. At that moment, she wished she’d stopped by McDonald’s for a coffee. And, in that instant, she realized not only would her coffee maker be another few days out from arriving, but she had no bed.

Carlos certainly wasn’t going to turn around and head back to pick her up and take her to his house. And she was so tired she didn’t even care. She’d sleep on the pile of clothes in her suitcase if she had to.

With that thought, she wondered where John had left her suitcase. She walked toward the stairs and could see it at the top. How generous of him to have carried it up because, at this point, she was so tired she didn’t think she could have made it.

She climbed the stairs slowly. When she reached her bedroom, she noticed the door was open and someone had taken the time to put a blow up bed in there and make it up with sheets and blankets.

A chair sat next to the bed with a lamp, a small digital clock, and a note.

She walked in and picked up the note.

I realized you didn’t have any furniture. This bed is yours for as long as you’d like. I also left some beer in the fridge and a cold pizza. John.

She held the note to her chest and breathed in. Could he be more amazing?

She looked down at the note again and ran her finger over the words.

He’d been thinking of her enough to do something so thoughtful. Was it possible he’d been thinking of her as much as she’d been thinking about him? Perhaps—but had he been thinking the same thoughts. Arianna knew her thoughts had kept her up nights in need of a cold shower.

Her stomach grumbled. As much as she’d like to just fall into the bed covered in John’s sheets, she really wanted a piece of that pizza, and perhaps a beer would help her fall asleep. After all, her body was so tired it wouldn’t know it was only six-thirty in the morning.

Chapter Three

John scrubbed his hand over his face and zipped up his coat. The only part about working construction that he didn’t like was that damn trailer he called an office. 

In the summer he baked, and in the winter he froze. It didn’t really matter if you had air conditioning or heat. The temperatures just got to a man once in a while.

The door opened, and he looked up. He hadn’t expected to see a friendly face, and he was ready to throw his frozen mug of coffee at the person who let more cold in.

“Zach Benson, what are you doing here? You’re on maternity leave, and my guess is your assistant doesn’t know you’re here or she’d be dragging you back to your wife.”

Zach laughed and held his hand out to him. “Let’s just say I came by with photos of my new son.”

John shook his hand. “Nice way to make an excuse to check on the build.”

“Whatever it takes.” Zach pulled his iPhone from his pocket and brought up the picture. He handed it to John. “There are my boys. His name is Spencer.”

“Congratulations, my friend. He looks healthy.”

“He is. Tyler isn’t so sure of him, but something tells me they’ll be pals soon enough.”

John handed him back his phone. “They’re close enough Tyler will never remember not having Spencer around.”

Zach gave a glance at the plans on the wall. “Looks like you’re still on time and under budget.”

“I don’t run builds any other way.”

“From the seat I sit in, I thank you for that.” Zach slid his phone back into his pocket and bundled up his coat. “So how was Arianna this morning?”

“I didn’t see her. I got here at six, and she still wasn’t at the house.”